The Potters Return
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Sequel to 'A Family Torn Apart'. Three years later, the Potter's return for the Triwizard Tounament. What will the Potter's do when one of their son's is forced to compete?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's characters**

**The Potters Return**

**A/N: This is a sequel to my last story A Family Torn Apart. If you haven't read it, you might want to do that first.**

James Potter was walking down the halls of The Academy of Magic, which was the school he and his wife taught at and also where his twin sons went to school. James had moved his family to New York City over three years ago to start fresh. They were originally from England, but because of a manipulative old headmaster, they decided to move.

The headmaster of the last school James and Lily taught at had kidnapped their son as a baby. He'd meddled in their lives and had torn their son and their family apart. Leaving was the only way for them to heal.

The last three years had been good for the Potters. They had somehow figured out a way to heal from what Dumbledore had done to them. They could never get back what he took from them, but at least they were together.

James was pulled from his thoughts by sound of his boss, headmaster Alexander Morgan.

"James," he called.

James turned around to hear what his boss wanted.

"I'm glad I caught up with you. I need a favor," said the headmaster.

"Of course, anything," said James.

"Well, you know that the triwizard tournament is going to take place this year, right?" he asked.

"Yes, it's happening in England," said James.

"Well, we've been invited to attend," said the headmaster.

James smiled proudly. "That's great. So, your bringing some of the students to Hogwarts?"

"Actually, that's where the favor comes in," he said.

James looked at him seriously. "I'm not going to England, Alex."

"Look, James just hear me out," Alex tried.

"No, this isn't happening. I'm not going back there. I'm not doing that to my son," James said.

"I've already spoken to Dominic," he said hesitantly. He knew that his professor would not be happy about that fact.

"You What!" James raged. "What the in the bloody hell gave you the right to speak to my son about this?"

"James, I wasn't even going to mention this to you if he had a problem with it," Alex explained.

"And he told you that he didn't?" asked a skeptical James.

"Yes. In fact, he and Evan were both exited about the prospect of watching the Triwizard tournament," Alex answered.

"So, you spoke to my son's without talking to me. Did you talk to my wife as well?" he asked bitterly.

Alex looked down.

"You did, didn't you? Alex, you know how I feel about manipulations," said James.

"I wasn't trying to manipulate you. I wanted to speak to Dominic first. Lily wouldn't leave me to speak to him a alone, so I told everyone together," he explained.

"When was this?" asked James.

"Just a couple hours ago," replied Alex.

James calmed down when he heard that. He at least knew that his friend and boss hadn't gone out of his way to lie to him. "Why aren't you going?"

"I have too many things that I need to do here," he answered.

James sighed. "Alright, but I swear, If Dumbledore tries one thing, I will kill him."


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of days later, Albus Dumbledore came into the Great Hall with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He then sat down in his chair at the staff table.

"Why are you so happy?" asked Minerva.

"The Academy of Magic is coming for the Triwizard Tournament and they are being led by James Potter, who is coming with his family," he said happily.

"Are your affairs in order?" asked Severus.

"Why, Severus, what ever do you mean?" asked Albus.

"I mean that James and Lily Potter would love nothing more than to chop your head off and hang it on their mantle," said Severus.

"And with good reason," Minerva pointed out.

"I'm sure that it will be fine," Albus said dismissively.

"Oh yes, I'm sure they've forgotten about how you let them think you were dead for 11 years," Severus said sardonically.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

When James and Lily arrived at Hogwarts with their students and their sons, they were greeted by all of Hogwarts, who were also greeting the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.

"Welcome everyone," said the headmaster. "If you will all follow me into the Great Hall, we will have celebration dinner."

James took a second to glare at him and then led his students to the great Hall.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

When Dominic and Evan made it to the Great Hall, they went over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Neville. "Hey Nev, what's up?" asked Dominic.

"Hey guys. I didn't know you were coming," said Neville.

"Yeah, Dad's not happy about it. He didn't want to come back, but our headmaster begged him," explained Evan.

"Anyway, it's awesome that we get to watch the tournament," said an excited Dominic.

After Dinner, the headmaster tapped his glass to get everyone's attention. At this point a casket was taken out and brought up to Dumbledore, who opened it and took out the Goblet of Fire. "Now, everyone over seventeen has twenty-four hours to put their name in. Tomorrow at this time, I will read of the names of our four champions. Now, if you wish to put your name in tonight, please do so now. Everyone else, off to bed," he said.

Dominic and Evan followed Neville and the rest of the Gryffindor's to Gryffindor tower, where they would be sleeping for the year.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The following night, Dominic, Evan, and Neville were sitting at the table for the Halloween feast. Dominic looked a bit agitated.

"What's wrong with him?" Neville asked Evan.

"Nothing, he's just paranoid about Halloween," said Evan.

"It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you," replied Dominic. "Something is going to happen. I just know it."

"You do realize you sound really paranoid," teased Neville.

Just then the Goblet of Fire spit out the first name.

"It seems that the Goblet is ready," said the headmaster. He then read the first name. "And the Durmstrang champion is Viktor krum," He then took the next piece of paper that the Goblet spit out. "The Beauxbatons champion is Fleur Delacour," he announced before taking another piece of paper. "For Hogwarts we have Cedric Diggory," he said and waited as all of the Hogwarts cheered. "Finally, we have Elliot freemen for the Academy of Magic."

"Good for Elliot. He's a pretty good guy," said Evan.

"Yeah great," said an apprehensive Dominic.

"Would you give it up already. Nothing is going to happen this year," said Evan.

Just after he says this, the Goblet spits out one last name. A surprised Dumbledore takes the name and reads it. "Dominic Potter."

"Every year, I tell you. Every Bloody year. I hate Halloween," he said as he got up to go to where the other champions were.


	3. Chapter 3

Dominic got to where the champions and some of the teachers were just in time to see his father charge at Dumbledore.

"You bastard!" James screamed as he lunged at Dumbledore. He was then pulled back by Snape and Karkaroff. "You put his name in that blasted cup. Even after all these years, your still trying to control our lives!" James was beyond livid. First Dumbledore had kidnapped his son and now he had put him an extremely dangerous situation.

"James, I swear, I didn't do this," promised Dumbledore.

"Yeah right," said an unbelieving James, who was trying to fight his way over to Dumbledore.

"James, I hate to say this, but he's probably telling the truth," said Lily.

"What?" asked a surprised James.

"Think about it. If he were going to put anyone's name in the cup, it would have been Evan. Evan is the one Dumbledore wanted us to focus on. He's the one that he's been trying to make into a hero," she explained.

James stopped to think for a moment. Lily was probably right. Dumbledore would have went after Evan, not Dominic. James then freed himself from his captors. "How could this have happened?"

"Isn't it obvious, the boy found a way to breach the age line," said Karkaroff. "This is outrageous. If he's allowed to compete than we should be allowed to get more students involved. If The Academy of Magic is allowed two champions than we should be as well."

"My son would not put his name in the cup," defended James.

"You must consider the possibility, James," said Albus.

"Do I look stupid to you? Seriously, do you think I have a death wish?" asked Dominic.

"Now, my boy-" Dumbledore started.

"I am not your boy," he interrupted rudely.

"Young man, you are a guest in my school. You shall show some respect," reprimanded Dumbledore.

Dominic laughed bitterly and took a confrontational step forward. "_You_ want _my_ respect? Are you kidding me? You screwed with my life! You're the last person who deserves respect from me. In fact, the Dark Lord himself deserves more respect from me than you do," he said. Who did Dumbledore of all people think he was demanding respect from him of all people. "I will not do this." he said.

"You don't have a choice, son," James said sadly. He didn't want his son competing, but he knew that there was no way out of it.

"What do you mean?" Dominic asked his father.

"It's a magical contract, Dominic. An unbreakable vow. If you don't compete, you will die," James explained.

"But, I didn't enter my name," a scared Dominic protested. He didn't want to do this. It was dangerous and contrary to Dumbledore's and Karkaroff's opinions, he didn't have a death wish.

"I know, but it doesn't matter. Your name was drawn. How it got in there doesn't matter. The unbreakable vow still stands," he replied.

"This isn't fair," Dominic announced before rushing out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Dominic ran out, he ran back to the Gryffindor dormitory where he found his brother and Neville waiting for him.

"What happened?" asked an anxious Evan.

"They're forcing me to compete. When I find the bloody bastard that put my name in that cup, I'm going to kill him," Dominic vowed.

"So, you're going to kill yourself, are you?" Ron Weasley snarled from behind them.

"Shove it, Weasley," said Dominic.

"You shove it, Johnson," he replied.

Dominic took an angry step towards him. "Never call me that again! The name is Potter."

"Oh right, the weak twin of the boy who lived," goaded Ron.

"Go screw yourself Weasley," said Dominic. He wanted to punch the git, but he refused to let Ron get to him, so instead he just went straight to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Dominic and Evan were in a classroom with his father and some of the other Academy of Magic students learning defense spells when a second year Gryffindor interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I was sent to get the champions. They are to be photographed," said the boy.

"Dominic, Elliot," he called.

Dominic got up and followed Elliot and the boy he believed to be named Colin out of the classroom and down to where they would be photographed. Once they got there, they saw that the other champions were already there.

Dominic is soon approached by one of the reporters. "Mr. Potter, I'm Rita Skeeter with the daily Prophet. May I have a few words?" asked the reporter.

"Sure, I guess," Dominic said as he led the way into a broom closet.

"Now, Harry, may I call you Harry?" she asked.

"No. My name is not Harry. It's Dominic," he said.

"So, you prefer to use the name they gave you at the orphanage," guessed Rita.

"Yes," said Dominic.

"Would you tell us a little about that?" asked Rita.

"About what?" he asked.

"Your abduction," clarified Rita.

Dominic thought about it for a minute. On one hand, he didn't want the entire world to know his life story, but on the other, it was a way to finally make Dumbledore suffer for what he did to his family. "Alright, I will give you an interview on what happened if you can insure that it will hit front page."

"Of course. I guarantee it," Rita said smiling.

"Alright, I'll give you a full exclusive, but I will not answer any questions. I will tell you what I want you to know and then I will leave. Is that understood," asked Dominic.

Rita didn't like the idea of not being able to question the boy, but she needed a story and the story of the not so dead Potter twin was the best she had. "Understood."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Dominic left the broom closet feeling extremely satisfied. By this time tomorrow that manipulative old man wouldn't know what hit him.

On his way back to the common room, Dominic ran into his brother. "Hey,"

"Hi. What's got you in such a good mood. You've been in a horrid mood all week," asked Evan.

"Let's just say that a certain headmaster is about to get what's coming to him," Dominic said, smiling evilly.

"What did you do," asked an excited Evan.

"You'll find out tomorrow," said Dominic.

"You have to tell me," he wined.

"And ruin the surprise? I don't think so," said Dominic.

"Well, if it isn't the cheater," said Ron as he approached them.

"Not even you could ruin my good mood, Weasley," he said.

"Oh, are you excited to die? You'll never survive the tournament. You're too weak," said Ron.

"Shut up!" Yelled Evan. "I'm sick of you bashing my brother. I let it go last time because I knew that Dominic could handle himself, but no more. Leave him alone."

"Why do you even hang around him? He's weak. Everyone says so, even Dumbledore," Ron ridiculed.

"And Dumbledore's word is law, right?" asked Dominic.

"Of course," he said as if it were obvious.

"You know what, Weasley? Make sure you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow. You can see Dumbledore in all his glory. Let me know what you think," said Dominic as he and Even walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day when Dominic went to the Great Hall, he noticed that nearly all the Gryffindor's were glaring, while the Slytherin's were smirking. Dominic quickly took a seat next between his brother and Neville. "So, what's new?" he asked smirking.

"Potter what are you playing at?" Ron demanded as he approached Dominic.

"Why Weasley, whatever do you mean," Dominic asked innocently.

"Who do you think you are calling the headmaster a kidnapper?" asked an enraged Ron.

"What's the mattter? Does the truth hurt?" he asked mockingly.

"Hey Potter," came the voice of Daphne Greengrass. "This is great. I didn't know you had it in you."

"You would approve Greengrass," sneered Weasley.

Daphne ignored him and kept her attention on Dominic. "So, how'd you manage to keep out of Slytherin?"

"Thanks for the complement, Greengrass. It was just time someone exposed Dumbledore for what he really is," Dominic said.

"So it's all true then?" she asked.

"Every last word," Dominic assured her.

"Oh, this is great. I knew Dumbledore couldn't be that noble. It looks like he's finally going to be knocked off his pedestal."

Dominic smirked and looked up at the headmaster, who was glaring daggers at him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

When Lily Potter walked into the Great Hall, she noticed that all the students were gossiping about something and that something seemed to be pissing Dumbledore off, not that she minded that fact. She quickly made her way up to the staff table and sat between her husband and Severus. "What's going on?"

"I haven't got a clue. I just got here," James answered.

Severus handed her a copy of the daily prophet. "How your son managed to blackmail the hat into putting him into Gryffindor, I'll never know.

Lily took the paper and opened it up. She was shocked by what she saw.

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE A KIDNAPPER?**

_Dominic Potter, the twin of the boy who lived, speaks out about the pain he and his family have endured courtesy of Albus Dumbledore. According to the victim himself, Dominic Potter, previously known as Harry Potter reveals that Albus Dumbledore faked his death and told his family of his death._

_Dominic reveals to having grown up in a muggle orphanage after his Aunt, whom Dumbledore entrusted him to, carelessly tossed him aside. The truth about this horrific crime only came to light when the first year Hogwarts students were given the heredity potion._

_I asked Dominic how his life has been since the truth about his parents were revealed and he said that he has been very happy, despite what Dumbledore tried…_

The article went on several paragraphs, but Lily didn't need to read anymore. She looked over to the Gryffindor table and smirked at her son. He certainly was smart. He managed to get his own brand of revenge. Lily was sure that the owls would arrive very soon. Some parents would consider pulling their children out of school while others would be demanding Dumbledore's resignation. All she could really think was that it couldn't happen to more deserving person.


	6. Chapter 6

Dominic and Evan were walking by the lake when they heard Ron's voice.

"Hey, Potter," he said.

They both turned.

"Oh, I meant the weak one," Ron elaborated.

"What do you want Weasley," Dominic asked.

"Just thought you ought to know that you're toast after the first task. Probably literally," Ron said smirking.

"Look Weasley, I don't have time for your idiocy. Either say what you want to say or sod off," Dominic said. He had enough on his plate without adding Ron Weasley to it.

"Well, my brother's here now," Ron said.

"That's great. Tell him we said hi," he said before him started to leave.

"Dominic wait," Evan called. He'd remembered Ron boasting about how his brother Charlie worked with dragons.

"My brother works with dragons. Care to take a guess about why he's here, Potter," Ron said before turning around.

Dominic gulped. "Evan?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You'll come to my funeral, right?" he asked.

"Ron could be lying," Evan tried.

"I don't think so, brother. He's not smart enough to come up with a lie like that," Dominic said.

"But they wouldn't really have children face dragon's would they?" Evan asked.

"Dumbledore is one of the people involved," Dominic said as if it explained everything, which it did.

"Mum is going to flip.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you all crazy? You want to make children fight dragons?" James asked. He couldn't believe the idiocy. Someone was going to end up getting killed.

"Now, James, I assure you, it will be completely safe," Dumbledore said.

"You know, I knew you were getting senile, but I didn't know you were this senile. We are talking about dragons. What about that says safe?" James asked.

"There will be dragon handlers there," Dumbledore said.

"Oh, well, I feel so much better now," James said sarcastically.

"The students knew what they were getting themselves into they submitted there names," Crouch said.

"My son did not submit his name," James reminded them.

"That's a matter of opinion," said Karkaroff.

"Stay out of it, Karkaroff. No one asked you," James said.

"Look, regardless of what happened with your boy, James, the fact of the matter is that he is in the tournament. We can't change things just for him," Crouch said.

"I'm not asking you to. None of those kids should be facing dragons. They are too young and have absolutely no training. They shouldn't be with in 50 feet of a dragon," said James.

"I'm sorry, James, but the decision has been made," Albus said with a tone of finality in his voice.

James glared at him. "Make no mistake, Dumbledore, I know this was your idea. Let me just make one thing clear. You chose to play god with Dominic's life. You made yourself responsible for him. So now I'm making you responsible for him. If anything happens to my son. If he so much gets a scratch from now until the day you die, I'm holding you responsible. And I don't care if it's because of you or not. What happens to him is on you now," He said before leaving.

I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong. I could have sworn you said Dragons," Lily said. She and James were in there quarters discussing the first task.

James backed away slightly. He knew his wife, and he knew she was getting ready to blow a gasket. "I did, Love."

"What!" she screamed.

James flinched as Lily screamed.

"They want to put my baby in the same room with a dragon! Are they out of there bloody minds?" she ranted.

"Well, technically it's outside," James said lightly.

"Whose idea was this? Was it Dumbledore's? I bet it was wasn't it? You were right before, James. Lets kill him," she said as she started out of the room.

James got in her way. "As much as I would love to kill Dumbledore, it wasn't all him. Crouch and the other headmasters all agreed to this.

"Fine, I'll kill all of them," she said.

"You want to just kill everyone?"

"They want to put my little boy in with a dragon! What a bunch bloody morons. Oh, yes, lets make a child fight something that could kill grown adults. Yes, that makes so much sense," Lily ranted.

"Lils, I agree, it's completely stupid, but we can't change it. You know I would if I could, but it wasn't my call," James said. He tried really hard to get everyone to see how disastrous it would be to make children fight dragons, but it had fallen on deaf ears.


	7. Chapter 7

Evan and Dominic sat at a table in the library looking really depressed. They'd been working for days on trying to figure out how to help Dominic in the first task.

"I'm dead," Dominic resolved. He was absolutely screwed. There was no way he was ready to face a dragon tomorrow. He really wished he hadn't told his headmaster that he was okay with going back to England. That was the biggest mistake he'd ever made.

"There's got to be something somewhere that can help you in the task tomorrow," Evan said. He refused to give up until he found something to help his brother.

"Maybe I can help."

Both boys turned and saw Hermione Granger at the table next to theirs. "Granger?" Dominic asked.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you guys weren't exactly being quiet. Maybe I can help you figure out your problem," Hermione said.

Dominic and Even looked at each other, silently holding a conversation. Neither of them really liked Hermione when they spent their first year there, but they were out of options and Hermione was pretty smart. If she could help, why turn her down? "Come on over," Dominic said.

Hermione quickly got up and took a seat across from the Potter twins.

"So why do you want to help us?" Evan asked suspiciously. He was used to most of the students at Hogwarts only wanting to be his friend because he was the boy who lived. It made him suspicious of anyone there that tried to get close to him and his brother.

"Well, for one, I think it's pretty awful that your brother's being forced to compete in the tournament. He's only fourteen. The rules state that he needs to be seventeen," Hermione said.

Dominic rolled his eyes. "The rules aren't always followed, Granger. Neither is what's right."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I'm getting that. My point is that you're at a slight disadvantage to the others. They have more experience and knowledge of spells than you do."

"So you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart?" Evan asked skeptically.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have anything better to do," she said sadly. She didn't really have any friends, so she didn't really do anything except study. Helping the Potter boys would be a nice change of pace.

Dominic looked at his brother for a minute and then nodded. "Well, I'll take all the help I can get, but I'm not sure what you can do. We've been at it for days."

"Maybe you should focus on yourself instead researching in books," Hermione said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Build on you strengths," Hermione advised.

Dominic thought for a minute. It wasn't a bad idea, but he couldn't think of any strengths that would help him fight a dragon. "The only things I'm really good at are defense and flying. I can't exactly use flying to get past the dragon."

"Why not?"

"Hello? I'm not allowed a broom, Granger," Dominic said.

"You're allowed a wand," Hermione retorted.

Dominic was quite for a moment. Then it was like a light bulb went off and he turned to Evan. Both boys said simultaneously, "The summoning charm!"

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Dominic nervously paced the tent he'd been told to wait in until it was his turn to face the first task. He was beyond scared. He was about to face one of the most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world. Sure, he had a plan, but dragons were unpredictable. He highly doubted that he would walk away without a scratch.

After what seemed like hours of waiting for the other three to finish, it was finally Dominic's turn. He took a deep breath and exited the tent. He went out to where the task was being held.

Dominic saw the golden egg he was supposed to retrieve parched on a rock. He took a deep breath and started to go towards it, hoping he could get to it without the dragon coming after him. That Hope was dashed, however, when the dragon's very large wing landed against his back. It caused him to fall over a few heavy rocks.

Dominic found himself unable to move for a few moments. That was, however cured when it started to breath fire at him. He immediately got out of his stupor and began running. He managed to hide behind a rock long enough to get his wand out, but then the dragon came after him again. It managed to throw him a few feet in the air with its wing. He immediately got up and started running for two rocks he could hide between, barely missing the fire that was being breathed on him in the process.

In the stands, he could hear Evan and Granger reminding him of what he was supposed to do. He pointed his wand up and chanted, "_Accio Firebolt!"_

Within seconds, Dominic could see the broom Sirius had gotten him for his birthday heading for him. It came just in time too because just as he got on it, the dragon breathed fire that would've killed him if it had been any longer.

Dominic spent the next few minutes flying as fast as he could to get away from the dragon. He thought he was in the clear until the dragon came out of nowhere and sent him off his broom. He luckily landed on the roof of a part of the castle, where he barely managed to hold on. Seconds later, he fell, but luck appeared to be on his side as was able to grab hold of one of the windows. Also luckily, it was right next to where his broom landed.

The dragon managed to destroy the window Dominic was holding onto just as he got his broom. He was sent sailing to the ground. He managed to get onto his broom and back into the air just seconds before he would've fallen to his death.

After another round of trying to out fly the dragon, Dominic finally managed to get back to where he was supposed to be and grabbed the egg, completing the task.

After the dragon was safely secured, Dominic landed and was immediately bombarded by both his parents.

"Oh, thank Merlin you are alright," Lily said as she hugged her son.

Dominic hugged his mother tightly. He was brave most of the time, but this time he was painfully aware of just how close he came to death. "I'm alright, Mum."

"Yes, thankfully," James said as he too pulled his son into an embrace.

Soon, Evan and Hermione made their way down. "That was freaky," Evan said. There were time during the task where he was really afraid his brother was going to die.

"You don't have to tell me that," Dominic said. He was painfully aware of just how 'freaky' it really was.

"Come on, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey," Lily said.

"No, I'm fine, Mum," Dominic said. He really didn't want to see a healer. Aside from the absolute fear he was trying to get over, he was fine.

"That wasn't a suggestion, Dominic Potter. Let's go!" Lily ordered.

Dominic sighed. He knew better than to argue with his mother when she used that kind of tone, so he followed her and his father back to the tent.


	8. Chapter 8

Dominic and Evan were currently in class with their father. They were working on Transfiguration; there last class of the day and it was nearly finished.

"Alright, I want you all to read chapters three and four by next time. Class dismissed. Everyone immediately started piling out of the classroom as quickly as possible.

"Dominic and Elliot, stay behind," James said.

"I'll meet you in the Great Hall," Dominic told his brother.

"Evan nodded and headed out the door.

"What's up, Professor?" Elliot asked.

"Both of you are representing our school in the tournament," James started.

"Yes sir," Elliot said.

"Unfortunately," Dominic said at the same time.

Though he did agree with him, James chose to ignore his son's comment. "You've both been informed of most of the things required of you over the next six months. There is one thing you haven't been told of though and that is the Yule Ball. It's a tradition for the Triwizard Tournament. The three champions, though in this case it's actually five, open the Ball with their dates."

"Whoa, hold on. Dates? We have to have dates?" Dominic asked horrified. The idea of having to ask a girl out and dance with her scared him more than the dragon did. He wasn't really all that shy, but the idea of rejection still scared him like it did anyone.'

"Well, that's all right, Professor. I'll of course by going with Courtney. I better go tell her," Elliot said before leaving.

James looked at his son, who still looked scared to death. 'Look, it's going to be okay. You're a Potter. That means getting all the girls will come naturally to you."

Dominic snorted. "Really because I heard Mum wouldn't even give you the time of day until your seventh year."

"Who told you that?" James asked.

"Uncle Sirius," he answered.

"He's a liar," James said rather quickly.

Dominic laughed.

"Okay, so your mother was one of the harder ones, but she came around didn't she. Just use your confidence. I know you have it. You certainly used to stand up to Dumbledore and have that article published," James reminded him.

"Well, I don't want to date Dumbledore now do I?" Dominic asked sarcastically.

James cringed at the thought. "Son, that's a bad mental image. Don't even say things like that."

"I just... I don't know how to talk to girls. I don't want to make a fool out of myself," Dominic said.

"You're going to have to get rid of that fear right now. Everybody makes a fool out of themselves at least once with a girl," James said.

"Even you?"

"Well, I was a special case," James bragged. "Is there even anyone you want to go with?"

"Well, there is this one girl, but I'm not sure you'd like it," Dominic said.

"Why not? She related to Dumbledore somehow?" James asked jokingly.

Dominic rolled his eyes. "She's a Slytherin."

'Oh, Dominic, I don't care about that. I'm not prejudiced against the Slytherins," James said. He had to admit, there was a time when he was very biased against the Slytherins. Back when he was in school, he did some awful things to them. Things he was really not proud of.

"Uncle Sirius is," Dominic said.

"Yeah, he kinda is, but as long as you're happy, he will be too," James said

Just then Lily entered the room. "Hey, you too. What's going on?"

"Oh, we were just talking about the upcoming Ball. I was giving Dominic some pointers on asking a girl out," James said.

Lily's eyes widened. "Dominic, don't you dare listen to a word your father says."

"Hey!" James protested.

Lily ignored him. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. He didn't get a real date until he was seventeen and learned how to really treat a girl. Same with Sirius. Don't listen to any of their pick-up lines or stupid advice. You want to know how to get a girl to go out with you? Just be yourself and ask her."

"I was gonna say that," James told her.

"Sure you were," Lily patronized.

"I was!" he insisted.

"Okay, I think I can handle it on my own. Thanks, guys," Dominic said before leaving the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"So we actually have to get dates to this thing?" Evan asked worriedly as they sat in the Great Hall.

"Well, I do anyway. The champions are supposed to open the dance with their dates," Dominic said.

"Any idea who you're going to ask?" Evan asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how. I mean, I don't want to make a fool out of myself. Dad says everyone does, but I'd still like to try to prevent it," Dominic said.

"Who are you going to ask?"

"I'll tell you once I ask her I don't want to jinx anything," Dominic said.

Evan nodded. "Well, I'm gonna ask Hermione."

"Granger? Bloody hell, really?" Dominic asked surprised. He didn't even know that his brother liked the Granger girl.

"Yeah. You know we've been spending a lot of time in the library trying to figure out how to help you with the tournament. She's not as bad as she was in First Year. She's actually pretty cool," Evan said.

"Oh. Well, okay. When are you going to ask her?" Dominic asked.

"I...I'll ask when the time is right," Even said. He was obviously very nervous about it. "What about you? When are you going to ask who you were planning to?"

Dominic watched the girl he liked get up with her friends. "Right now," he said before getting up and going over to them. "Uh, Greengrass?"

"What do you want, Potter?" Daphne asked.

"Could I have a word?" Dominic asked.

"Sure. I'll be right back," she told her two friends before following Dominic down the hall and into an empty classroom. "So what's up?"

"Um, did you hear about the Ball that's being held this year?" Dominic asked nervously.

"Yeah, the Yule Ball. Professor Snape told us about it," Daphne said.

"Oh, good. Well, are you going with anyone?" he asked.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Potter, if you're going to ask me, just do it."

Dominic gulped. "W...would you go to the Ball with me?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do that day. You'd better show me a good time though," Daphne said smirking before leaving.


End file.
